Sax Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Sax Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 11.4%, selling 2,220 shares and bringing its total holdings to 17,339 shares worth approximately $2.7 million.
• Alphabet Inc. reported a quarterly EPS of $2.31, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $96.43 billion, up 13.8% year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Sax Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,339 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,220 shares during the quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Courage Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 90.9% in the 1st quarter. Courage Capital Management LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,640,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,043,000. Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 172,047 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,879,000 after buying an additional 22,753 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 516,789 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $80,738,000 after buying an additional 11,167 shares during the period. Finally, RPG Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 100.5% in the 1st quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 329,086 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $51,413,000 after buying an additional 164,948 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.0%

Alphabet stock opened at $206.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The business's fifty day moving average is $187.71 and its 200 day moving average is $174.86. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $209.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BNP Paribas lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,287,137.64. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.

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